DA plans to privatize public slaughterhouses

The Department of Agriculture is planning to privatize the country public slaughterhouses.

The proposed move according to Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. will hasten the upgrading of these facilities and will also accelerate the modernization of the livestock industry, which last year posted a gross value of P110.8 billion.

The National Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) will shortly come up with a privatization scheme for the country‚s existing public slaughterhouses or abbatoirs currently being operated by local government units (LGUs).

Lorenzo said the cash-strapped government is hard-pressed to maintain such facilities, thus, it will be better to allow interested companies, cooperatives, farmers groups and associations, and entrepreneurs to upgrade and rehabilitate a number of these facilities.

"Most of the slaughterhouses up for privatization are those run by local government units, which, due to lack of developmental funds, had not been properly maintained, and through the years had deteriorated to a level where they can no longer cope with increasing demand brought by rapid growth of the meat and livestock sector," he said.

Lorenzo said DA, through the NMIC is encouraging LGUs to turn over the management and supervision of the units to the private sector.

This was prompted by the fact that many of the LGU-run facilities were found to be substandard and unhygienic, posing a continuing risk to the meat-consuming public due to dilapidated facilities, lack of clean and sufficient source of water, filthy surroundings and poor management.

He said the parties can work out an arrangement wherein the company pays revenues, rentals and taxes for use of the facility while the local government and NMIC provide technical support.

NMIC executive director Efren Nuestro said the private sector appears to be receptive to the proposal.

Earlier, two firms, the AVM Bernardo Engineering and the New-York based TLC Beatrice Food, had begun investing money in upgrading the country’s abattoirs, while other groups are doing some due diligence with the intention of eventually getting involved in the slaughterhouse privatization process.

Nuestro said AVM, which started as a government contractor engaged in abattoir construction, had already taken over the slaughterhouse operation of the public facility in in Tagbilaran and Mandaue, both in Central Visayas.

Aside from these two facilities in Central Visayas, the Valenzuela City- based firm is also currently developing the city abattoirs of Talisay, Ormoc and Davao. It has plans to upgrade those in Butuan, Dumaguete, Bacolod and Iloilo, Nuestro said.

TLC Beatrice on the other hand, is constructing a P40-million integrated meat processing plant in Naga City in the Bicol Region.